How to Become a Teacher in Colorado: Tests, Fees and Routes

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Every fact on this page was checked against the source linked beside it on November 7, 2026.

No degree yet: the traditional route

For high school students, college students and anyone without a bachelor's degree. You earn the degree and the teacher preparation in one program.

Initial Teacher License (Colorado-approved program)

Completers of a Colorado-approved teacher preparation program apply for a first Initial Teacher License after earning a bachelor's degree, finishing the program including student teaching, and demonstrating content competency for each requested endorsement. Applicants submit fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and then apply in the COOL online system with a $90 base application fee. The Initial license is valid for three years.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
2. Complete a Colorado-approved teacher preparation program, including student teaching.
3. Demonstrate content knowledge with an approved exam score, endorsement worksheet or Multiple Measures approval.
4. Create a COOL account and submit fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
5. Submit a TEACHER application in COOL within 30 days of CDE receiving your background check.
6. Complete an induction program to advance to the Professional Teacher License.

Source: ed.cde.state.co.us

Bachelor's in another field: the alternative route

For people who already hold a bachelor's degree in a subject other than education.

Alternative Teacher License or Interim Authorization

Colorado's alternative pathway lets people with a bachelor's degree begin teaching while completing preparation through a Colorado-approved designated agency. Candidates pass CBI and FBI background checks, choose an allowable endorsement area, hold a matching teaching position and sign a Statement of Assurance with the employer and designated agency; the Alternative Teacher License also requires content knowledge shown by a content degree, 24 semester hours or an approved Praxis exam. Most programs last one to two years, while the Interim Authorization lasts one year and requires enrollment in an approved program.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
2. Submit fingerprints for the CBI and FBI background checks.
3. Choose an allowable endorsement area and demonstrate content knowledge.
4. Secure a teaching position that matches the endorsement and arrange enrollment with a Colorado-approved designated agency.
5. Submit the ALTERNATIVE TEACHER application in COOL.

Source: ed.cde.state.co.us

Changing careers into teaching in Colorado

If you already have a bachelor's degree and some years in another job, start with the alternative route described above. It is built for people who did not study education.

For pay context, the median annual wage for high school teachers in Colorado was $72,900 in May 2025, according to the BLS OEWS state estimates. If your background matches a subject on the state's shortage list, that list is further down this page.

State-approved alternative certification programs

Not verified yet: the state's website could not be reached when we checked. Check with the agency.

The agency keeps the official list here: approved programs in Colorado.

Licensed in another state

For teachers who hold a license from another state and want to teach in Colorado.

Out-of-state teacher applicants

Teachers prepared in another state must hold, or be eligible to hold, a license in the state where their preparation program is approved, and must meet Colorado's other licensure requirements. Applicants document a bachelor's degree, completion of an approved program including student teaching, content knowledge for each endorsement and all licensed work experience, submit fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and apply in COOL with a $110 base application fee. Depending on qualifications, the license issued is valid for 1, 3 or 7 years.

1. Confirm you hold or are eligible for a license in the state where your program is approved.
2. Gather your ID, official transcripts, approved program verification, licenses and work history.
3. Document content knowledge with an approved exam score, endorsement worksheet or Multiple Measures notice.
4. Submit fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
5. Submit a TEACHER application in COOL with the $110 base fee.

Source: ed.cde.state.co.us

Required tests, codes and qualifying scores

Colorado uses Praxis for teacher licensure. The table lists the core tests by license area, with the qualifying score and fee exactly as the source publishes them. Which tests you take depends on the license area you are seeking, so check the full list for your subject before you register.

Scores and fees change. Confirm both on the testing company's page before you register.

Fees, background check and license validity

Background check

Every applicant for a Colorado educator license or authorization, in state or out of state, must be fingerprinted before applying, and prints taken for other employers or agencies do not count. Fingerprints are submitted through a CBI-approved vendor to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which forwards them to the FBI; results can take up to six weeks, and status appears in the applicant's COOL account. Source

Your first license

License: Initial Teacher License. It is valid for 3 years. Holders advance to the Professional Teacher License by submitting an induction program certificate. Source

Renewal

The Professional Teacher License is valid for seven years. Renewal requires 90 contact hours of professional learning, equal to six semester hours, completed within the seven years before renewal and aligned to the educator's endorsement areas, plus any mandated training such as English learner education. Educators complete the renewal summary in the online application and upload supporting documentation. Requirement: 90 contact hours (6 semester hours) every 7 years. Source

Teacher pay in Colorado

Elementary teachers in Colorado earned a median of $63,410 a year in May 2025, $560 below the national median of $63,970. Half of teachers in each occupation earn more than the median and half earn less. What you earn in a given district depends on its salary schedule, your experience and any graduate credits.

Annual wages, cross-industry estimates, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025 state tables, retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on November 7, 2026. Special education teachers are shown separately; our guide to the online master's in special education covers the add-on and initial-license options.

Teacher shortage areas, 2026-27

Colorado reported these subject areas to the US Department of Education as teacher shortage areas for the 2026-27 school year.

• Core Subjects: Elementary Education (statewide)
• Health and Physical Fitness (statewide)
• Language Arts: English (statewide)
• Mathematics (statewide)
• Science (statewide)
• Social Studies (statewide)
• Special Education: Generic Special Education (statewide)
• Support Staff: Counseling, Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, Speech language pathologist/audiologist (statewide)

Source: US Department of Education, Teacher Shortage Areas report, retrieved November 7, 2026.